Hearts of Stone

27. Cage the Beast

Kat stood before the golden embroidery of the curse, tapping her chin with the hilt of the iron dagger.

How could she break it? What did she have to do to get rid of the beast? Would pretending to hate Cage work now when he already knew she loved him? Even if she hated the idea, she'd do anything to see him again, be able to talk to him. And she'd realized that there were things bigger than her, bigger than both of them.

Cage had rogue troops. Even if she didn't know the extent of it, she could tell that the simple existence of the portraits would be seen as treason. Then again, the king might not be able to get over the existence of the magic in the first place.

 Yes, she was in a very complicated situation, and it annoyed her beyond belief that she couldn't be more into it. Be there by Cage's side, help him overthrow those who had taken everything from him.

He's not doing this for the throne.

The thought was simple and honest. He was doing it for his country. For his brother, so that when he took over, he wouldn't be forced to run a ruin. 

And yet, even with all that knowledge and the clear importance of Cage's work, she longed for him. As much as she hadn't wanted anything to do with Donnie, she lusted after Cage with embarrassing intensity. Just being around him made her hum with life. The way he kissed her gave her a fever only he could contain.

Nope, not going there. She had other things to think about. Like how to break that curse and make everything alright for everyone.

Bloom the perfect rose with thorns strong enough to kill the beast.

She tapped the hilt of the dagger against her lower lip much faster, her mind spinning. She was the rose. The blooming only referred to everything he'd taught her. How to feel comfortable with who she was, how to fight, how to think, how to ride properly.

Most importantly, after his absence and after this, she'd broken free and learned to thrive alone, handle emergencies. And now, she needed to use all that intelligence to crack this riddle. The only problem was, she could. With ease. But she didn't like it.

She glanced at the dagger in her hand. A thorn strong enough to kill the beast. He wouldn't heal from it, not like he did from everything else. And it was obvious that it wouldn't just kill the beast. It would kill Cage, too. 

She'd stabbed the beast, and it was just fine, lazing in the dungeons. So it was obvious that the counter-curse was literal. She had to kill the beast. But how, when it would mean Cage's demise?

No, honey, you still need him. You're not strong enough.

The hissing voice made her shudder, and for a moment, she was tempted to answer. Ask what she wasn't strong enough for. But she had a feeling it would be a bad idea to acknowledge it. What was it, even? A hereditary gift from her father? A very obsessive and creepy inner voice? Was she slowly losing her mind?

Not that it mattered seeing as she would most likely lose her life very soon. As much as she hated it, the men in the portraits were right. She wasn't more important than the kingdom. Cage had other duties, and she couldn't get in the way. 

The room suddenly became stifling, almost as much as the dungeon. And since it wasn't like she could draw new meaning from a few words, she admitted defeat, tucked the iron dagger in the ornate sheath strapped around her thigh to hide it, and headed for the door. 

Maybe Joey had returned and could help her figure out a way to get Cage back. She opened the door and almost had a heart attack when she found someone right in front of it.